Exercise

Regular physical activity is essential to the maintenance of health, and
unfortunately, Americans are less active today than ever before. Busy
schedules, labor saving devices, high technology transportation and
electronic entertainment have all led to a more and more sedentary life
style. While they are a great convenience, elevators, escalators and
remote controls have helped to make us fatter and less fit.

Daily activity is crucial to weight loss as well as to weight loss
maintenance. It is generally felt that all adults should incorporate 30
minutes of sustained exercise into each day to maintain health, but this
level of activity may not be sufficient to generate significant weight
reduction. ( The
Surgeon General's Report on Activity and Health).

Obese people can find it particularly difficult to start an exercise
program because of the great stresses their weight places upon them. A
number of common-sense behavioral changes can help ease such people into
a more daily active life:

Let your doctor know you plan to start a new program.

Start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of exercise.

Choose exercises that you enjoy and that are easy to add to your
daily routine

Think about simple changes in habit that can add to your
activity level (e.g. take the stairs instead of the elevator).

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy that your body
expends in a day when you engage in no activity. (It is the energy you
need just to lie in bed and survive.) When you calculate your BMR and
add it to the energy you use for your daily activities, you can see how
many calories you can take in just to stay balanced. In order to lose
weight, one clearly needs to expend more calories than one takes in.